S40 Plate Lights, Side Position Lights & Check Engine Li

[foneil]

My neighbor is a little old lady with a nice 40,000 mile 2000 S40. She failed a recent inspection due to plate lights being out. The non-Volvo mechanic replaced these bulbs and checked the fuses and sockets, but they still don't work. He gave up, then denied her a passing grade on the inspection, and overcharged her for the unsuccessful labor to try to find the problem. Told her to go to a Volvo dealer. On the way home, to add insult to injury, she noticed her "check engine" light is on! I noticed the side position lights are not functioning, but do not know if that condition is new or not. Any idea if all this is connected, and if there is a simple solution? She has no money to spend on this.